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This week Google announced the launch of Android 5.0 Lollipop, the most radical design overhaul of Android since it launched in late 2008. Six weeks ago Apple announced iOS 8, one of the most exciting and expansive releases of iOS since it debuted in 2007 (under the name ‘Mobile OS X’). It is now time to put them head-to-head.

Design - Material Design vs Flat Design

For Apple the hard work was done last year with iOS 7. Out went Steve Jobs’ beloved skeuomorphism and in came minimalist flat design. It wasn’t met with universal praise and it certainly became more cartoonish, but iOS 7 was clean, modern and established Apple’s new design language.

iOS 8 builds on this good work adding more consistency and refining iconography, but it also has some smart design tweaks with regards to notifications, widgets, multi-tasking and keyboard interaction which I’ll go into in more detail in the Features section on the next page.

In addition to this iOS 8 makes better use of gestures for navigation: most notably a swipe from the left edge to go back and a double tap of the home button for ‘Reachability’ which slides the whole screen down. These are smart moves given the jump in screen size with both the iPhone 6 and, in particular, the iPhone 6 Plus.

By contrast Android 5.0 Lollipop represents the biggest redesign in Android history. Like iOS 7, it sees Google ditch almost all vestiges of skeuomorphism in favour of a flatter, more minimalist design. But unlike iOS, Material Design is more than respray. It is an ideology.

As the name suggests, Material Design is more about physicality than superficiality. It has specific physical rules about how buttons should react when touched, how different UI layers should interact and how animations are both trigger and unfold and this is being pushed on third party app developers as well.

The aim of all this is to not only introduce a highly consistent experience for the user, but to enhance their understanding of what is happening. For example, animations originate from the point of contact, key action buttons are highlighted in a standout colour and layouts are consistent from app to app.

Comparing the iOS 8 and Android 5.0 Lollipop is a shock, because for the first time in Android history it has become more design focused than iOS. The ugly duckling is finally a swan. Its design is both visual, instructional and altogether more ambitious.

Not everything is right out of the gate. If anything Material Design is overly white and spread out (you can see less information in most apps - eg fewer emails, lines of text, etc) whereas its predecessor Android 4.4 KitKat was too dark and dense.

Furthermore I’m not the biggest fan of the PlayStation controller-inspired new soft keys and it remains to be seen how Material Design will be adopted into the skins of third party handset manufacturers. Much of the good work could be undone.

That said Material Design is not just a huge step forward for Android, it is something Google will transition to Android Wear and its browser-based services. It combines visuals and substance into a methodology with the potential to influence the future design of every operating system going forward - both desktop and mobile.

Next Page: Features...

Features - Expansion vs Refinement

The tables are turned when it comes to features. While Lollipop is all about refining existing functionality, iOS 8 takes major steps forward. It must be said that for the most part the two operating systems are still in the habit of ripping off the best aspects of one another, but this is no bad thing.

For example, iOS 8 now kills annoying pop-ups with more discreet notifications, the majority of which are also now actionable like in Android (for example, reply direct from a new message notification). It also supports Widgets like Android but only within the Notification Center and has song recognition built into voice searches like Google Voice Search.

The similarities continue with expanded sharing options so you can share content with any installed app again like Android, rather than the rather limited selection in iOS 7, and there is now support for swipe typing (made popular on Android) and third party keyboards, ditto.

iOS 8 finally brings support for third party keyboards like Swiftkey and its swipe typing

None of this is to belittle iOS. These are major features. They dramatically improve the user experience and also in many ways signal a welcome change of attitude from Apple in letting third party app developers integrate more tightly into the core of iOS.

Furthermore, while iOS has now caught up with many of Android’s best features, it has also charged ahead with innovative new ones like HealthKit and Apple Pay (more in the ‘Differentiators’ section on the next page). As such iOS 8 comes out firing and snuffs out many of the smug stereotypes Android users have long made about the platform.

iOS 8 adds many new features including direct notification replies, upgraded multitasking and widgets

By contrast Android Lollipop is less about new features and more about refinement.

Notifications have long been the driving force of Android (and since copied by iOS and Windows Phone) and it gets an entirely new look with pull down shortcuts, expandable notifications with more quick shortcut commands and the ability to disable, snooze or prioritise the notifications from every app from one place. Being able to control this firehose is a godsend.

Lollipop has refined multitasking with the App Switcher moving a card-like interface which no longer breaks down by app, but instead by the relevant aspect of that application. So, for example, different tabs within Chrome or different documents within Google Docs get their own card allowing you to quickly switch between them.

This means you are no longer going back just to an app, but to a specific thing within that app and Google has also integrated the search bar so it is available at all times.

Then again Lollipop is not too proud to do some blatant copying of its own. From iOS it steals the long awaited Do Not Disturb mode as well as more fully realised lockscreen notifications which iOS has had for years. There is also finally a ‘Tap and Go’ mode which allows owners to restore settings and folder structures from a previous handset - another iOS staple - though it doesn’t yet transfer third party app settings.

64-bit chipset support also arrives and Google has followed Apple in improving developers’ access to graphics processing power, much like ‘Metal’ found in iOS that recently enabled Battlefield 4 to run on an iPad. Finally on the hardware side, Lollipop brings support for USB audio, a similar move to Apple which enabled audio support via the Lightning port - a move which could ultimately do away with the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Android 5.0 Lollipop brings welcome guest and multi-user modes

Meanwhile Lollipop borrows heavily from third party handset makers (most notably Motorola) with a Battery Saver mode (part of ‘Project Volta’ - more in the Battery Life section), double tap to wake command and access to ‘OK Google’ voice commands, even when a phone is locked.

Finally Google steals from itself bringing the profiles mode from Android tablets to all Android phones. This allows you to switch profiles between family members in just a few taps, set up a guest mode or even pin certain apps so they cannot be exited - great for parents giving devices to their children.

New innovations are less obvious this time around, though I would count Material Design as a massive one.

Perhaps the most interesting is Lollipop’s approach to security. Where Apple uses TouchID, Android can now perform handset unlocking through automatic facial recognition while you check lockscreen notifications and it works seamlessly. It also pairs with Android Wear devices so the handset is never pin or password locked while both the handset and wearable are paired and therefore in close proximity. Clever stuff.

Next Page: Differentiators...

Differentiators - Real and False

With iOS 8 and Android 5.0 Lollipop drastically improving their functionality and design respectively the two have never been closer, but there are still some key differences.

Yes all four are extremely important products (and they are only going to get more influential as time goes on), but they aren't significantly different from one another.

Most notably Apple Pay on its own isn't particularly new. Google Wallet has long offered touch payments using NFC, but traction is only now being gained with Apple also aboard the wireless transaction bandwagon. What Apple Pay does do is reassure its users thanks to its integration with Touch ID and refusal to store card details.

Google Fit in Android 5.0 Lollipop

Consequently, while Wallet is the much older service, Pay has the momentum and a battle royale is going to be fought here over the next few years.

The next false differentiators are the newly launched Apple HealthKit and Google Fit. Both act like catch-all umbrellas for the myriad of fitness apps available in both stores (like the roles of Game Center on iOS and Play Games on Android for your health) and they can compile all their data in one place.

Where they may ultimately differ is partnerships. Some popular apps, like Runkeeper, have already committed to support both HealthKit and Fit but other major companies like Fitbit have yet to commit in either direction. As such the gap may increase, but neither is likely to score an indisputable victory over the other.

Apple HealthKit on iOS 8

Similarly wearables are still too early in their lifecycle to know who will win out. Android Wear has great potential and first generation devices are available now, but they remain limited. Meanwhile the much hyped Apple Watch (complete guide) has the potential to change the industry, but won’t be cheap and the reviews are not yet in.

As for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, both aim to put their respective platforms at the heart of your car’s entertainment system. Support for both remains incredibly limited so it isn't something we can speculate on at this point, but the duo have a wide array of car manufacturers signed up so it is all about whether and when they deliver.

Android Auto (image courtesy of Google)

So where do the real differentiators lie? Mostly in the smaller details and well worn tracks.

Notably where iOS has mimicked Android features they aren't necessarily all as fully realised. The aforementioned third party keyboards cannot be used in certain situations (such as with a banking app or in some form filling) and the decision to restrict widgets to the notification center is bizarre as they make ideal, informative fillers in hard to reach areas of the screen.

Android 5.0 Lollipop has far greater layout flexibility

On larger screens Android also retains an advantage, despite reachability, by keeping its core navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen within easy reach and by allowing icons to be positioned anywhere. Android has long been used on big screen phones and that experience shows.

Apple’s ongoing insistence that icons must fill up a screen starting from the top left corner is a handover from when iPhones had easy to reach top left hand corners. And you still can’t hide apps from your homescreens so everyone now has a ‘Rubbish’, ‘Unused’ or worse named folder on their iOS devices.

iOS 8 still forces users to make 'unused' or 'junk' folders and start from the top left hand corner

That said where iOS does excel is in its newly launched 'Continuity' functionality. This allows users to 'hand-off' calls, messaging and more to different devices (notably only Apple hardware), depending on which you are using at any one time. Yes much of Android is founded on Cloud-based continuity (emails, calendar appointments, remote app installation, Hangouts messaging, etc) which works smoothly across OS X, Chrome OS and Windows, but Apple has taken a step ahead here.

More to the point, Continuity's significant ambition is realised at the first attempt and I had no problem with hand-offs at any point during this review. No doubt Google is going to hit back hard here given its Cloud-focus, but for now Apple has stolen a lead.

Continuity working across iOS and OS X.

iOS does also still present the safer environment. Android’s susceptibility to viruses is misunderstood, stemming from its ability to access third party app stores, and Google Play is extremely safe but the association may never be lost.

The same goes for iOS and Android hardware. iPhones are consistently excellent, if expensive and restricted to Apple standards while Android offers near limitless choice but you need to dig out the diamonds in the rough. For the novices, sticking with Motorola’s budget (Moto E), bargain (Moto G) and premium (Moto X) is a safe route, but choices (including Google’s Nexus 6 phablet, Nexus 9 tablet and the excellent LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact) are plentiful.

Next Page: Cameras and Battery Life…

Camera - Software Vs Hardware

One of the less discussed areas of major change in both iOS 8 and Android 5.0 Lollipop is their bolstered camera software.

This single change in Lollipop is huge and early tests show it can dramatically improve the images produced by every single smartphone or tablet once it is installed.

This could close the gap on iOS’s biggest advantage: Apple’s bespoke image processing which is tailored to each iPhone’s specific camera sensor. Android can’t hope to do this given the huge variety of hardware it runs, but access to RAW files means some incredible third party apps can be written for specific handsets.

Furthermore Google itself should be able to produce enhanced end results and take some of the pressure off Android handset makers to keep coming up with ever greater and higher megapixel lenses to compensate.

One of the (quite right) stereotypes about iOS is that it is more efficient than Android. It runs faster on weaker hardware and is less of a battery drain. Or it was.

Google started the fightback with Android 4.0 KitKat, recoding the platform from the ground up to run smoothly on even low end hardware (as best demonstrated by Motorola’s Moto E and Moto G). Now Android 5.0 Lollipop is finishing the job by dramatically improving battery life.

At its heart is Project Volta. This is an initiative designed to cut back on unnecessary operations such as apps waking the phone up repeatedly, only running apps’ house cleaning necessities in batches - often only when plugged in - and stopping continual networking requests (polling) from Android and third party apps when there is no network connectivity.

Finally Google has added ‘Battery Historian’, a deep analytics tool which it can use to track and tweak battery consumption so the OS continually learns.

So while a damaging WiFi bug hit battery life in a near final build of Android Lollipop earlier this week (it is now fixed), preliminary tests seem hugely encouraging. Notably Ars Technica found when Android Lollipop was installed on a Nexus 5 (a handset famous for its battery life Achilles Heel) it lasted a remarkable 36% longer.

This is a potential game changer, especially for latter Android handsets like the Galaxy S5 and phablets like the Note 4 which already deliver strong battery life due to their newer chipsets.

Lollipop also now couples this with a battery saver mode that automatically kicks in at 15% capacity (it can be switched off) to add another 90 minutes of usage. It also cleverly changes the top and bottom status bars to red so you won’t forget it is on. Furthermore Lollipop also sees Android move to its new ‘Android RunTime’ (ART) compiler which launches apps faster and more efficiently, with the only downside being a slightly larger install size for each app.

What about iOS? While Android makes all the fresh running here, the truth is iOS has little to prove. The iPhone 6 doesn’t have stellar battery life, but that is down to the small battery Apple has fitted (its 1810mAh capacity is 50% less than many Android rivals). This is highlighted by the iPhone 6 Plus whose 2915mAh battery can last 3-4 days between charges with light use.

The key to iOS’s success is its remarkably efficient standby time. Leave an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus unplugged overnight and it will lose 1-2% charge. Until Lollipop, Android had never been able to get near that.

Project Volta changes this and Android is now every bit as fast as iOS and virtually as efficient, while having phones with significantly larger batteries than the current iPhone models. Android has just about caught up.

Of course the risk is that handset makers and their (often unwanted) skins will undo all Volta’s work, but only time will tell.

Next Page: Requirements, Availability and Bottom Line

Requirements And Availability

All of which brings us to what has long been Apple’s biggest advantage over Android and it remains perhaps the one area where Lollipop is powerless to catch up.

Buying an iPhone means getting the latest iOS updates as soon as they come out. In fact, as was seen with the buggy iOS 8.0.1 release that was ultimately withdrawn, not upgrading can actually be the hardest thing. Furthermore you will be guaranteed at least three years of upgrades.

For Android it remains far more of a lottery. Google’s move to push the Nexus range into the premium bracket with the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 shows it is now keen to move a pure Android experience front and centre, though its launch stock struggles show that can be easier said than done.

iOS (left) still gets updates much faster than Android (right) with this Nexus 5 still awaiting Lollipop

Furthermore Google retains no control over how quickly its handset partners upgrade their phones or how fully they cover Android with their own skins. Google gave partners an usually long heads up by announcing ‘Android L’ way back in June at Google I/O 2014 and it means many are announcing they will have upgrades ready for their key handsets within 1-2 months, but this still doesn’t compare to iOS roll-out times.

That said what mustn't be forgotten is the role of ‘Google Play Services’. This is “used to update Google apps and [third party] apps from Google Play” but in reality what it has done is enable Android to be far more modular. Consequently core apps like Gmail, Google Maps, Google Calendar, YouTube, Google Keyboard and more are now updated through the Play Store.

As such even older phones not updated to Lollipop will still get the latest Material Design apps, even long after Apple has stopped supporting iPhones and iPads with iOS updates. Yes, Google Play Services is not a perfect solution but it is a very good (and often overlooked) backup plan.

Bottom Line

iOS 8 and Android 5.0 Lollipop are both game changers for their respective platforms. iOS now finally has the flexibility and functionality to counter the age-old taunts of Android owners. Similarly Android now has class leading design, speed and battery efficiency to match anything Apple has produced.

With some justification cynics can point to the fact that both platforms have effectively plugged their weakest areas by copying what is good from their rivals. This is largely true, but it is also no bad thing.

Gone forever with it is the idea that a makeover should be purely superficial and it fuses good looks with a new, consistent visual language which is not only a joy to use, but genuinely guides the user in operation.

It is worth asking how often Material Design will be seen under the skins of non-Nexus Android 5.0 handsets. But in an era where two mobile juggernauts are increasingly without weak spots, it is a moment of real inspiration that can change how we think about user interface design and that sees Lollipop win my vote.